my knitting and other thoughts today

so i have this incredible urge to be creative and to have some sort of craft that i can do with odds and ends and bits of this and that - like sewing (i am currently on the look out for a second hand sewing machine!) or embroidery -- i am an avid fan and reader of soule mama's blog and envious of her life really ... check her out! i was reading about her knitting and she had the most encouraging entry concerning knitting projects that don't seem to get completed, which reminded me of the scarf i am still "knitting" for my mama for this past mother's day (sorry mom!) i started getting down on myself for not being able to finish projects (like the knitting, the albums for the kids, snapfish gifts that are still unpaid for and unsent etc etc.) and then i read this: (i give the credit to soule mama)

"For seven years - since I started knitting - I've always carried a knitting project with me. I bring them in the car, and they move about from bag to bag (gathering crumbs of food along the way). Just waiting. Waiting for that five minutes that I'm sitting in the car with sleeping children. Or for that reaaally long train in front of us. Or for the (oh, so) few moments that all three babes are happily engaged without me at the beach, playground, woods or wherever we are. And those moments where knitting actually happens are heavenly. Worth the wait. But I started to think about the number of those moments where I actually do knit, and how relatively small that is compared to the number of hours that the yarn travels with us. It's pretty small. Really small. If I had to put a number on it, I'd say about 2%. That's a lot of travelling for that yarn, and not so much action. Which at first I thought might be a bit ridiculous, but the more I thought about it (it was a long walk), the more I liked the idea. That there's always a presence of something being made, of a creation in progress, of the work of handmade. I've got to believe that it's instilling some sort of value in all of that, and that ultimately (bear with me here), the 'energy' of the kids sock (or whatever it may be) is all the more 'full' for having 'lived' with us for so long. And the beautiful thing about that yarn is, it's so patient. The very nature of knitting isn't one of rushing, or quick results. And so, it's presence serves as a reminder of that for me. It says: The yarn will be there. The project can wait. Take a deep breath. Play with your kids."

don't you just love that? she really lives. which is what i want to do - live, simply, well, joyfully, Godly, peacefully. why is it such a labor to have these disciplines in my life? shouldn't my day start with the Lord first, i think so. so that i can get my priorities in order (b/c how quickly we forget, kind of like the israelites in the desert). my kids make messes - why do i bother getting upset? they are healthy, imaginative, creative and lively. they love to "do" and "help". the end of the day is a good time to clean up. during the day when life is messy and organic - that is the time to see what is really going on. to enjoy the little moments together.

so today i am starting out with some of 2 samuel and maybe just maybe a cup of english breakfast or kenyan tea or some hot kenyan coffee.

be inspired to live in the living.
don't live in the getting and give me's.